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N  OTES 


ON   THE 


Indian  Bui^ial  (Qounds 


OF 


GASTEI^N    nOI^TH   (©AI^OLINA. 


J.  A.    HOLMES. 


So  far  as  is  known  to  me,  no  account  of  the  Indian  burial  mounds, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  portions  of  Eastern  North  Carohna,  have, 
as  yet,  been  published.  This  fact  is  considered  a  sufficient  reason 
for  the  publication  of  the  following  notes  concerning  a  few  of  these 
mounds  which  have  been  examined  in  Duplin  and  a  few  other  coun- 
ties in  the  region  under  consideration. 

It  is  expected  that  the  examination  of  other  mounds  will  be 
carried  on  during  the  present  year,  and  it  is  considered  advisable 
to  postpone  generalized  statements  concerning  them  until  these 
additional  examinations  have  been  completed.  It  may  be  stated, 
however,  of  the  mounds  that  have  been  examined  already,  that 
they  are  quite  different  from  and  of  much  less  interest,  so  far  as  eon- 
tents  are  concerned,  than  those  of  Caldwell  and  other  counties  of  the 
western  section  of  the  State.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
notes,  they  are  generally  low  and  rarely  rising  to  more  than  three 
feet  abov^e  the  surrounding  surface,  with  generally  circular  bases 
varying  in  diameter  from  15  to  40  feet;  and  ihey  contain  little  more 
than  the  bones  of  human  (presumably  Indian)  skeletons,  arranged 
in  no  special  order.  They  h  ive  been  generally  built  on  somewhat 
elevated,  dry,  sandy  places,  out  of  a  soil  similar  to  that  by  which 
they  are  surrounded.  No  evidence  of  an  excavation  below  the  gen- 
eral surface  has  as  yet  been  observed.  In  the  process  of  burial, 
the  bones  or  bodies  seem  to  have  been  laid  on  the  surface  or  above, 
and  covered  up  with  soil  taken  from  the  vicinity  of  the  mound. 
In  every  case  that  has  come  under  my  own  observation  charcoal 
has  been  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  mound. 

Mound  No.  1 — Duplin  county,  located  at  Kenansville,  about  one- 
half  mile  southwest  from  the  courthouse,  on  a  somewhat  elevated. 


dry,  sandy  ridge.  In  form,  its  base  is  nearly  circular,  35  feet  in 
diameter ;  height  3  feet.  The  soil  of  the  mound  is  like  that  which 
surrounds  it,  with  no  evidence  of  stratification.  The  excavation 
was  made  by  beginning  on  one  side  of  the  mound  and  cutting  a 
trench  35  feet  long,  and  to  a  depth  nearly  2  feet  below  the  general 
surface  of  the  soil,  (5  feet  below  top  of  mound)  and  removing  all 
the  soil  of  the  mound  by  cutting  new  trenches  and  filling  up  the  old 
ones.  In  this  way  all  the  soil  of  the  mound  and  for  two  feet  below 
its  base  was  carefully  examined.  The  soil  below  the  base  of  the 
mound  did  not  appear  to  have  been  disturbed  at  the  time  the  mound 
vpas  built.  The  contents  of  the  mound  included  fragments  of  char- 
coal, a  few  small  fragments  of  pottery,  a  hand-full  of  small  shells, 
and  parts  of  sixty  human  skeletons.  No  implements  of  any  kind 
were  found.  Small  pieces  of  charcoal  were  scattered  about  in  dif- 
ferent portions  of  the  mound,  but  the  larger  portion  of  the  charcoal 
was  found  at  one  place  3  or  4  feet  square  near  one  side  of  the  mound. 
At  this  place  the  soil  was  colored  dark,  and  seemed  to  be  mixed  with 
ashes.  There  were  here  with  the  charcoal,  fragments  of  bones, 
some  of  which  were  dark  colored,  and  may  have  been  burned;  but 
they  were  so  nearly  decomposed  that  I  was  unable  to  satisfy  myself 
as  to  this  point.  I  could  detect  no  evidence  of  burning  in  case  of 
the  bones  in  other  portions  of  the  mound.  Fragments  of  pottery 
were  few  in  number,  small  in  size,  and  scattered  about  in  different 
parts  of  the  mound.  They  were  generally  scratched  and  cross- 
scrated  on  one  side,  but  no  definite  figures  could  be  made  out.  The 
shell  "beads"  were  small  in  size — 10  to  12  mm.  in  length.  They 
are  the  Marginella  roscida  of  Redfield,  a  small  gasteropod  which  is 
said  to  be  now  living  along  the  coasts  of  this  State.  The  specimens, 
about  75  in  number,  were  all  found  together,  lying  in  a  bunch  near 
the  skull  and  breast  bonesof  a  skeleton.  The  apex  of  each  one  had 
been  ground  off  obliquely  so  as  to  leave  an  opening  passing  through 
the  shell  from  the  apex  to  the  anterior  canal — probably  for  the  pur- 
pose of  stringing  them. 

The  skeletons  of  this  mound  were  generally  much  softened  from 
decay — many  of  the  harder  bones  falling  to  pieces  on  being  handled, 
while  many  of  the  smaller  and  softer  bones  were  beyond  recogni- 
tion. They  were  distributed  through  nearly  every  portion  of  the 
mound,  from  side  to  side,  and  from  the*  base  to  the  top  surface, 
without,  so  far  as  was  discovered,  any  definite  order  as  to  their  ar- 
rangement. None  were  found  below  the  level  of  the  surface  of  the 
soil  outside  the  mound.  In  a  few  eases  the  skeletons  occurred  singly, 
with  none  others  within  several  feet ;  while  in  other  cases  several 


3 


were  found  in  actual  contact  with  one  another;  and  in  one  portion 
of  the  mound,  near  the  outer  edge,  as  many  as  twenty-one  skeletons 
were  found  placed  witliin  the  space  of  six  feet  square.  Here,  in  the 
case  last  mentioned,  several  of  tlie  skeletons  lay  side  by  side,  others 
on  top  of  these,  parallel  to  them,  while  still  others  lay  on  top  of 
and  across  the  first.  When  one  skeleton  was  located  above  another, 
in  some  cases  the  two  were  in  actual  contact,  in  other  cases  they 
were  separated  by  a  foot  more  of  soil. 

As  to  the  position  of  the  parts  of  the  individual  skeletons,  this 
could  not  be  fully  settled  in  the  present  case,  on  account  of  the  de- 
cayed condition  of  many  of  the  bones.  The  following  arrangement 
of  the  parts,  however,  was  found  to  be  true  of  nearly  every  skele- 
ton exhumed :  Tlie  bones  lay  in  a  horizontal  position  or  nearly  so. 
Those  of  the  lower  limbs  were  bent  upon  themselves  at  the  knee,  so 
that  the  thigh  bone  (femur)  and  the  bones  of  the  leg  (tibia  and 
fibula)  lay  parallel  to  one  another;  the  bones  of  the  foot  and  ankles 
being  found  with  or  near  the  hip  bones.  The  knee  cap  or  patella, 
g3nerally  lying  at  its  proper  place,  indicated  that  there  must  have  been 
very  little  disturbance  of  the  majority  of  the  skeletons  after  their 
burial.  The  bones  of  the  upper  limbs,  also,  were  see;'  ingly  bent 
upon  themselves  at  the  elbow ;  thos**  of  the  fore-arm  (humerus)  gen- 
erally lying  quite  or  nearly  side  by  side  with  the  bones  of  the  thigh 
and  leg;  the  elbow  Joint  pointing  toward  the  hip  bones,  while  the 
bones  of  the  two  arms  below  the  elbow  Joint  (radius  and  ulna)  were 
in  many  cases  crossed,  as  it  were,  in  front  of  the  body.  The  ribs 
and  vertebrae  lay  along  by  the  side  of,  on  top  of,  and  between  the 
bones  of  the  upper  and  lower  limbs;  generally  too  far  decayed  to 
indicate  their  proper  order  or  position.  The  skulls  generally  lay 
directly  above  or  near  the  hip  bones,  in  a  variety  of  positions  ;  in 
some  cases  the  side,  right  or  left,  while  in  other  cases  the  top  of  the 
skull,  the  base  or  front  was  downward. 

But  two  of  the  crania  (A  and  B  of  the  following  table)  obtained 
from  this  mound  were  sufficiently  well  preserved  for  measurement; 
and  both  of  these,  as  shown  by  the  teeth,  are  skulls  of  adults.  C 
of  this  table  is  the  skull  of  an  adult  taken  from  mound  No.  2. 
below. 


Crania. 

Length. 

Breadth. 

Height. 

j 
Index  of           Index  of 
Breadth.             Height. 

t 

Facial 
Angle. 

A 
B 
C 

193  mm. 
172  mm. 
180  mm. 

151   mm. 
133  mm. 
137  mm. 

144  mm. 
136  mm. 
147  mm. 

.746 
.772 
.761 

•746 
.790 
.816 

74° 
66° 
630 

The  skeletons  were  too  much  decomposed  to  permit  the  distin- 
guishing of  the  sexes  of  the  individuals  to  whom  they  belonged  ; 
but  the  size  of  the  crania  (adults)  and  other  bones  seem  to  indicate 
that  a  portion  of  the  skeletons  were  those  of  women.  One  small 
cranium  found  was  evidently  that  of  a  child — the  second  and  third 
p.air  of  incisor  teeth  appearing  beyond  the  gums. 

Mound  No.  2,  located  If  miles  east  of  Hallsville,  Duplin  county, 
on  a  somewhat  elevated,  dry,  sandy  region.  Base  of  mound  nearly 
circular,  22  feet  in  diameter;  height,  3  feet,  surface  rounded  over 
the  top.  Soil  similar  to  that  which  surrounds  the  mound— light 
sandy.  Excavations  of  one-half  of  the  mound  exposed  portions  of 
eight  skeletons,  fragments  of  charcoal  and  pottery,  arranged  in 
much  the  same  way  as  described  above  in  ease  of  mound  No.  1.  The 
bones  being  badly  decomposed,  and  the  mound  being  thoroughly 
penetrated  by  the  roots  of  trees  growing  ove;  it,  the  excavation 
was  stopped.  No  implements  or  weapons  of  any  and  were  found. 
There  was  no  evidence  of  any  excavation  having  been  made  below 
the  general  surface,  in  the  building  of  the  mound,  but,  rather  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary.  The  third  cranium  (C)  of  the  above  table 
was  taken  from  this  mou^id. 

Mound  No.  3,  located  in  a  dry  sandy  and  rather  elevated  place 
about  one-third  of  a  mile  east  of  Hallsville,  Duplin  county.  In  size 
and  shape,  this  mound  resembles  those  already  mentioned.  Base 
circular,  81  feet  in  diameter  ;  height  2^  feet.  No  excavation  was 
made,  other  than  what  was  sufficient  to  ascertain  that  the  mound 
contained  bones  of  human  skeletons. 

Mound  No.  4,  Duplin  county,  located  in  a  rather  level  sandy 
region,  about  one  mile  from  Sarecta  P.  O.,  on  the  property  of  Branch 
Williams.  Base  of  mound  circular,  35  feet  in  diameter;  height  2^ 
feet.  Soil  sandy,  like  that  which  surrounds  it.  Around  the  mound, 
extending  out  for  a  distance  varying  from  5  to  10  yards,  there  was  a 
depression,  w  ieh,  in  addition  to  the  similarity  of  soils  mentioned 
above,  affords  ground  for  the  conjecture  that  here,  as  in  a  number 
of  other  cases,  it  is  probable  the  mound  was  built  by  the  throwing 
on  the  soil  from  its  immediate  vicinity.  Only  a  partial  excavation 
was  made,  with  the  result  of  finding  human  bones,  and  a  few  small 
fragments  of  charcoal  and  pottery. 

Since  the  above  mounds  were  visited,  I  have  obtained  information 
as  to  the  localities  of  mounds  similar  to  those  described,  in  the  east- 
ern, southern  and  western  portions  of  Duplin  county;  and  I  can 
hardly  doubt  but  that  a  closer  examination  of  this  region  will  prove 


them  to  be  more  numerous  than  they  are  now  generally  supposed 
to  be. 

In  Sampson  county,  the  localities  of  several  mounds  have  been 
noted;  but  one  of  these,  however,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  has  been 
examined  with  care.  This  one  (Mound  No.  5),  examined  by  Messrs. 
Phillips  and  Murphy  of  the  Clinton  School,  is  located  about  2-k  miles 
west  of  Clinton  (Sampson  county),  on  the  eastern  exposure  of  a 
small  hill.  In  general  characters  it  resembles  tlie  mounds  already 
described.  Base  circular,  40  feet  in  diameter  ;  height  3J  feet  ;  soil 
sandy  loam,  resembling  that  surrounding  the  mound.  Contents  con- 
sisted of  small  fragments  of  charcoal,  two  bunches  of  small  shell 
"beads,"  and  the  parts  of  16  human  skeletons.  These  skeletons 
were,  not  distributed  uniformly  throughout  the  portion  of  the  mound 
examined.  At  one  place  there  were  9,  at  another  6,  and  at  a  third 
place  5  skeletons,  lying  close  to,  and  in  some  cases  on  top  of  one 
another.  In  this  point  as  in  the  position  of  the  parts  of  the  skele- 
tons ("doubled-up")  this  mound  resembles  those  described  above. 
The  bones  were  generally  soft  from  decay.  The  small  shells  were 
found  in  bunches  under  two  skulls;  they  are  of  the  same  kind  (Mar- 
ginella  roscida,  Redfleld)  as  those  from  Mound  No.  1,  and  their  ends 
were  ground  off  in  the  same  way.  No  bones  were  found  below  the 
surface  level,  and  there  was  no  evidence  of  excavations  having  been 
made  below  this  point.  No  stone  in  plements  of  any  kind  were 
found  in  the  mound.     One-half  this  mound  was  examined. 

In  Robeson  and  Cumbeiiand  counties  several  mounds  have  be^n 
examined;  and  for  information  concerning  these,  lam  indebted  to 
Mr.  Hamilton  McMillan,  of  Dora,  Robeson  county.  Five  mounds 
are  reported  as  having  been  examined  in  Robeson  county,  averaging 
60  feet  in  circumference,  and  2  feet  high,  all  located  on  elevate  d, 
dry  ridges,  near  swamps  or  water-courses;  and  all  contained  bones 
of  human  skeletons.  One  of  these  mounds,  located  about  two  miles 
east  of  Red  Springs,  examined  by  Mr.  McMillan,  in  1882,  contained 
about  50  skeletons.  Many  of  these  bones  near  the  surface  of  the 
mound,  in  Mr.  McMillan's  opinion,  had  been  partly  burned — those 
nearer  the  bottom  were  in  a  better  state  of  preservation.  There  w^as  an 
"entire  absence  of  skulls  and  teeth"  from  this  mound — a  somewhat 
remarkable  fact.  A  broken  stone  "celt"  was  found  among  the  re- 
mains ;  buf.  with  this  one  unimportant  exception,  no  mention  has 
been  made  of  implements  having  been  found. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  Mr.  D.  Sinclair,  of  Plain  View,  Robeson 
county,  has  informed  me  that  he  has  seen  four  mounds  in  the  south- 
ern portion  of  this  county — two  near  Brooklyn  P.  O.,  and  two  be- 


6 


tween  Leesville  and  Fair  Bluff,  about  five  miles  from  the  latter 
place. 

In  Cumberland  county,  two  mounds  are  reported  by  Mr.  McMil- 
lan as  having  been  examined.  One  of  these  loccated  about  ten  miles 
south  of  Fayetteville,  was  found  to  contain  the  crumbled  bones  of 
a  single  person,  lying  in  an  east  and  west  direction.  There  was  also 
found  in  this  mound  a  fragment  rock  rich  in  silver  ore.  The  other 
mound,  located  ten  miles  southwest  from  Fayetteville,  near  Rock- 
flsh  Creek,  was  examined  by  Mr.  McMillan  in  1860,  and  found  to 
contain  a  "  large  number  of  skeletons," — "bones  were  well  preserved 
and,  without  exception,  those  of  adults."  The  mound  was  located 
on  a  high  sandy  ridge,  its  base  about  20  feet  in  diameter ;  height  2^ 
feet. 

In  Wake  county  one  mound  has  been  reported  as  being  located 
on  the  northeast  and  several  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  Neuse 
River,  about  seven  miles  east  from  Raleigh ;  and  from  the  former  it 
is  stated  that  large  numbers  o  stone  implements  have  been  removed. 
But  I  have  been  unable  to  examine  these  or  to  obtain  any  definite 
information  concerning  them.  One  mound  in  this  county,  examined 
in  1882  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Primrose,  of  Raleigh,  is  worthy  of  mention 
in  this  connection,  as  it  resembles  in  general  characters  the  mounds 
of  Duplin  county.  This  mound  is  located  about  ten  miles  south  of 
Raleigh,  orj  a  small  plateau  covered  with  an  original  growth  of  pines. 
Base  of  mound  circular,  about  14  feet  in  diameter ;  Ireight  2  feet. 
The  contents  of  the  mound  consisted  of  small  fragment  of  charcoal, 
and  the  bones  of  10  or  12  human  skeletons,  much  decayed,  and,  ar- 
ranged, so  far  as  could  be  determined,  without  any  reference  to  order 
or  regularity.     No  weapons  or  implements  of  any  kind  were  found. 


Photomouni 
Pamphlet 
Binder 
Gaylord  Bros.  Inc. 

Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y 

PIT-  m  21,  1908 


1 


UNIVERS 


YOF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00030721648 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


Form  No.  A-368,  Rev.  8/95 


